by Will Yount
That moment of enlightenment. You know, that moment when you realized that these tiny house things were pretty darn cool. Personally, I think it goes way back to the days of tree houses and forts. For the most part I think it has become a new way of thinking for many people; a conscious movement towards living a more environmentally friendly life and being more economically responsible. Possibly many are just looking to be far less financially burdened. Is the The American dream changing? Though its far from just an American thing. Maybe we’re just catching on…
I’m a former home builder, have been in construction of some sort for most of my adult life and if you count those tree houses and forts much longer. In the back of my mind I have always loved what I’ll call small cabins, cottages, etc. After waiting out the present economical crash of 2007-08ish I finally decided to do what I loved, build small cabins, or as they are better known now “tiny houses.” So many of these tiny houses I see on sites such as here on tiny house blog just blow me away. Incredible creations of art and expression. If you built it yourself you would have a sense of great pride and accomplishment.
Sometimes it’s like people’s inner “Picasso with a hammer” has come unleashed, awesomeness at its finest. I chose to build for those that don’t have the skills or time to do it themselves. I have tried to reach a balance between designs I feel are interesting, well thought out, reproducible and equally adapted to a studio in backyard suburbia or cabin on the river. Just enough options between paint, siding and flooring, etc to give each owner a feeling of uniqueness. The construction has to be above average, but still affordable. I also decided to limit the offerings to only a handful of models. I call this one “MoonShadow,” it is 12 ft x16 ft with a 5 ft x 16 ft covered front deck. Fully insulated and wired with installed drywall and bamboo floors. The exterior is painted hardi-plank siding. It is being used as a music studio and appears to be well loved.
I hope you like them. Email me at Will @ Hummingbird Tiny Spaces.com
http://www.hummingbirdtinyspaces.com/
Love the mid-century modern look to it.
It’s good to have options, since not everyone is able to build their own home, for whatever reason. There is a balance like you say between creating something artistic and something affordable. I think there is a real market for your homes. Happy building!
Big glass areas and a covered outdoor space, perfect combination.
What a great place. Make it 16 x 20 or 24, add a bath and kitchenette and you have a great place to hide from the world. I love it.
LOL… I wish I’d read all the prior posts MORE THOROUGHLY first, before submitting mine… I was just too excited to wait, I guess… But, I would’ve simply been able to ‘ditto’ your comment, instead of going into depth on basically the same remark/suggestion (blame it on the MS… so much to say, so little space, LOL. Better than the incoherence I have to deal with other times, I guess…)! 😉
You have really hit the nail on the head with your “cottages”. They are adorable and so “livable”. I think you will end up with more work than you know what to do with!!!
Although I’m more of a traditionalist, where favaored porches are the kind with carved/turned posts and railing, something about the porch (as pictured in the final photo of the set you’ve included here) looks SO INVITING and, interestingly enough, beautiful WITHOUT the average posts and railings… in fact, I LOVE the open, airy feel under the canted roof!
This is a design I saved over for my ‘favorites’ (tiny/small houses folder on my desktop)! For me, I would entertain something like this in the 16 X 24 range (as opposed to the 12 X 16 it is), with a dividing interior wall down the middle (12 X 16 for living room/kitchen/dining and the other half for a w/d closet, full bathroom and little 8 X 12ish bedroom…? both sides would, as yours illustrates, have floor-to-ceiling glass doors – mine, french doors, please!). 😉
…PERFECT!
Thanks for sharing your craftsmanship/creativity in simplicity… makes me wish I could put my inner energy and inspiration into ACTION and start building MY ‘little house’!
This one is nice, but I really like the Cumberland shown on the website. Would love to see interior photos of a completed Cumberland with kitchen and bathroom options included. The only thing I would change for myself is to have a regular front door rather than a sliding glass door. Love it!
I love the calming colour of the exterior and the simplicity of the outdoor decking area. The interior space looks uncluttered but purposeful. Inspiring 🙂
Will have to go with the 16’x24′ size, but love the styling and ease of this design. I will be checking out the website as soon as I leave here. Awesome work, looks like great detail, and good colors too. Love the shed style roofing! Glad to see you take the niche…..
Are there floor plans for these buildings?
I like that your tiny home has sliding doors. I’ve been working out in my head how to adapt a Cusato Katrina Cottage to wheelchair accessibility for myself. A sliding door entry is 1 of the things I have on my wants list.
very nice , it would be perfect for a disabled person with all that openness. i too like the big passive solar and fine hat she wears . i bet its super efficient with the sip roof
can you tell i like it? thank you for sharing it with us. john
I too love this design, but again would make it a tad bigger to have a small kitchen and a functional bathroom, and a closet. I would be moving right in. Love windows, L-O-V-E THEM!!! The open porch is a sweet move, you can come out and have coffee or something cool to drink and take in the day, ah yes, comfort! Would they be made for disabled folks in mind?
12×16 is ideal for a tiny house. I built mine in northern new mexico, same shed roof plan (the simplest)with two sliding doors like yours opening onto a triangular 16′ deck hangin’ over a rushing stream. Kinda screwed up on the stud intervals, but covered with cheap masonite paneling (run, don’t walk). Except for setting foundation piers and sliding doors, I framed and raised this thing by myself, including corrugated steel roof. I was 69 years old.
CHARLOTTE (note gender)
Love that little house with two sliding doors on front !! Could u tell me approx,,, how much something like that cost winterized??? Thanku robin oliver